Concrete is a conglomerate of aggregate (such as gravel, sand, and/or crushed stone), water, and hydraulic cement (such as portland cement), as well as other components and/or additives. Concrete is initially fluid-like when it is first made, enabling it to be poured or placed into shapes. After hardening this property is lost. When concrete is mixed, it takes about twenty-eight percent of the weight of cement as water to fully consume all the cement in making hydration products. However, it is not possible to attain a fluid mix with such a small amount of water, and more water than is needed is added. The additional water simply resides in the pores present in concrete, and is referred to as the pore liquid or pore solution.
When Portland cement is mixed with water to produce concrete, the alkali oxides present in the cement, Na2O and K2O, dissolve. Alkali materials are supplied by the cement, aggregate, additives, and even from the environment in which the hardened concrete exists (such as salts placed on concrete to melt ice). Thus, the pore solution produced becomes highly basic. It is not unusual for this pore solution to attain a pH or 13.3 or higher. Depending on the aggregate used in the concrete, a highly basic pore solution may interact chemically with the aggregate. In particular, some sources of silica in aggregate react with the pore solution. This process is called the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and may result in formation of a gelatinous substance which may swell and cause damage to the concrete. The swelling can exert pressures greater than the tensile strength of the concrete and cause the concrete to swell and crack. The ASR reaction takes place over a period of months or years.
Although the reaction is referred to as the alkali-silica reaction, it will be appreciated that it is the hydroxyl ions that are essential for this reaction to occur. For example, ASR will not occur if silica-containing aggregates are placed in contact with alkali nitrate solutions with Na or K concentrations comparable to those which result in ASR if those solutions were alkali hydroxides.
In extreme cases. ASR can cause the failure of concrete structures. More commonly. ASR weakens the ability of concrete to withstand other forms of attack. For example, concrete that is cracked due to this process can permit a greater degree of saturation and is therefore much more susceptible to damage as a result of “freeze-thaw” cycles. Similarly, cracks in the surfaces of steel reinforced concrete can compromise the ability of the concrete to keep out salts when subjected to deicers, thus allowing corrosion of the steel it was designed to protect.
There are a number of strategies which have been used to mitigate or eliminate ASR. One strategy is to reduce the alkali content of the cement. It is common in cement technology to sum the amounts of K2O and Na2O present and express these as an Na2O equivalent. Cements containing less than 0.6 wt % Na2O equivalent are called low alkali. However, merely using a low alkali cement does not ensure that the alkali silica reaction can be avoided. Another common strategy is the intentional addition of a source of reactive silica, which acts as an acid to neutralize the alkali. Such sources are fine powders and are typically silica fume (a high surface area SiO2 formed as a by-product of making ferro-silicon), fly ash (high surface area materials produced in the combustion of coal which contains SiO2), and natural pozzolans (high surface area materials produced which contains SiO2 and which are typically produced by volcanic action).
Another technology involves the addition of a soluble source of lithium such as LiOH or LiNO3. The mechanism of action of Li is not entirely resolved, but it appears to stabilize the alkali silica gels which form. These Li-containing gels then appear to provide a low permeability layer over the underlying reactive material.
There are economic and other disadvantages with most of the above methods. For example, lithium compounds are very expensive and have therefore not gained much acceptance. The use of mineral admixtures such as silica fume or fly ash requires additional storage silos, and requires additional mixing. Further, silica fume is expensive, and if not properly blended into the concrete can actually cause ASR. Finally, combustion technology is changing to reduce NOx emissions, which in turn makes fly ash less reactive and thus less suitable as an additive to reduce ASR. Fly ash and silica fume are not suitable for treatment of existing structures. There remains a need for economic and effective methods of reducing ASR in concrete.